GPs have a key role helping patients receive compensation for moderate or significant adverse event or injury from the use of TGA-approved COVID-19 vaccines.
Do you know a patient who received a COVID-19 vaccine and experienced a significant adverse event or injury? Patients who have been detrimentally affected by a TGA-approved COVID jab, can now claim compensation under the Federal Government’s no-fault vaccine claims scheme.
The national scheme opened on Monday 13 December, and is available for anyone who has received any of three COVID-19 vaccines approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) – AstraZeneca, Pfizer or Moderna. Claims can be made for compensation for any associated costs incurred of $1000 or more.
According to RACGP President Dr Karen Price, the new scheme is a welcome step. “This was a long and hard battle, and it was a collaborative one, to get a scheme that made doctors’ lives and patients’ outcomes centred because it was becoming a bit of a roadblock,” Dr Price said in a news release.
What makes a valid claim?
Eligible claims must involve one of the following eligible clinical conditions or injuries:
- Anaphylactic reaction – AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna
- Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS) – AstraZeneca
- Myocarditis – Pfizer, Moderna
- Pericarditis – Pfizer, Moderna
- Capillary leak syndrome – AstraZeneca
- Demyelinating disorders including Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) – AstraZeneca
- Thrombocytopenia including Immune Thrombocytopenia, where this represents a final diagnosis – AstraZeneca
- A shoulder injury following receipt of a COVID-19 vaccine
- Other moderate-to-significant administration injuries that caused permanent impairment or the need for an extended period of medical treatment
Each claim must include proof that a person was admitted to a hospital for at least one night, and show evidence of the costs associated. Evidence also needs to be provided regarding how exactly the vaccine caused harm. In this regard, each claim must include a 10-page medical report completed by either the patient’s treating doctor or a hospital physician. This report must include:
- the nature of the harm suffered by the patient post-vaccination
- the duration of that condition
- the causative link to the TGA approved COVID-19 vaccine.
Claims can be lodged through myGov, the Express Plus Medicare mobile app and through the Services Australia website.